Interim Head, Coronary Intensive Care Unit
The Heart Institute
Hadassah University Medical Center
Jerusalem, Israel
Tel: (972) 2-677-8910
Fax:(972) 2-643-4434
Email: apollak@hadassah.org.il
Education
1973 -1979: Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel; M.D.
Postgraduate Training
1980 -1981:Rotating Internship, Hadassah University Medical Center
1984 -1986: Resident in Medicine, Hadassah University Medical Center
1986 -1990: Fellow in Cardiology, Hadassah University Medical Center
1991 -1993: Research Fellow in Cardiology, Boston City Hospital, Boston, MA
1992 -1993: Research Fellow, Cardiac Muscle Research Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Licensure nd Certification
1980: E.C.F.M.G. Examination and Certification
1981: Israel Board of Registration in Medicine, License # 18209
1990: Israel Board of Certification in Cardiology, License #14535
1991 -1992: Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, Certificates of Limited Registration #91-5209-91, 91-6274-92
1992: F.L.E.X. Examination
1993: Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, License #77552
Military Service
1981 -1984: Military Field Physician, Infantry Division, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
1982 -1983: Medical Commander, the Jordan Valley and the Jericho District
Clinical Appointments
1990 -1991: Staff Attending Physician, Department of Cardiology, Hadassah University Medical Center
1993-1994: Staff Attending Physician, Department of Cardiology, Boston City Hospital, Boston, MA
1994 - Present: Senior Staff Physician, Department of Cardiology, Hadassah University Medical Center
2001 - Present: Interim Director, Coronary Intensive Care Unit, Hadassah University Medical Center
Academic Appointments
1986 -1990: Instructor, Internal Medicine, Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine
1995 - Present: Lecturer, Internal Medicine (Cardiology), Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine
Other Appointments
2001: Secretary, Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases, The Israel Heart Society
Awards, Honors and Grants
1978: Elected class representative, medical student exchange program, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
1982: IDF Decoration of Honor for combat duty as military physician
1986: Hebrew University Medical Faculty Award for outstanding research on Pulmonary Function Tests in Israeli Children and Young Adults
1998: Hadassah Medical Organization Women's Health Research Grant - "The frequency of the C677T mutation in the methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHFR) gene and its relation to the extent of coronary disease in women undergoing cardiac catheterization"
2001: Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine
Teaching Experience
1984 -1987: Teaching bedside physical diagnosis to third year medical students, Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine
1987 -1990: Teaching clinical cardiology to fourth and sixth year medical students, Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine
1991 -1994: Teaching physical diagnosis, basic ECG, and learning objectives in cardiology to fourth (senior) year medical students, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
1991 -1994: Teaching clinical cardiology to medical house staff (residents in internal medicine and fellows in cardiology), Boston City Hospital, Boston, MA
1994 -Present: Teaching clinical cardiology and echocardiography to fourth and sixth year medical students, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine
1988 - Present: Teaching ECG and intensive cardiac care to post-graduate nursing students, advanced intensive care courses, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Nursing, Jerusalem
1994 - Present: Teaching advanced cardiac life support courses to medical students, nurses, junior and senior medical staff, Hadassah University Medical Center
2001: Teaching pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction to second year medical and dental students, course on medical physiology, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine
2001: Mentor for MD thesis: Ms. Shibly Yasmin, fifth year medical student; "Evaluation of cardiac function in thalassemic patients" Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine
2001: Member, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School committee for fourth year examinations in Internal Medicine
Invited Lectures
1998: "The assessment of left ventricular diastolic function" Presented at the Second International Meeting on Non-Invasive Cardiology, Jerusalem, Israel
1999: "Using transesophageal echocardiography to monitor heart function in the operating room" Presented at the joint meeting of the Israeli Anesthesia and Cardiac National Societies, Haifa, Israel
Research Interests and Investigations Currently in Progress
1. Echo-Doppler assessment of atrial function in health and disease and the influence of drugs. (see ref. 15 & 16)
2. Characterization of ventricular dysfunction and pericardial disease in cardiac amyloidosis and renal failure. (see ref. 25)
3. The effect of heat acclimation on cardiac function and cardiac protection during cardiopulmonary bypass. (see submitted ref. 2)
4. Utilizing tissue-Doppler imaging in the assessment of normal cardiac function and diastolic dysfunction (this project is part of an international multi-center study).
5. Utilizing tissue-Doppler imaging (strain and strain-rate) for the evaluation of cardiac function in thalassemic patients. (Mentor for MD thesis)
6. The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genotype and the risk of ischemic heart disease. (see ref. 31)
7. Cardiac pathology in Familial Mediterranean Fever with and without renal failure.
8. Preconditioning and cardiac protection during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. (Collaborative research with the Departments of Anesthesiology and Cardiothoracic surgery).
9. The EPHESUS international study: the use of eplerenone in patients with acute myocardial infarction and heart failure (participating as co-investigator).
More in PubMed